“Santa Lucia, I wish I had bread, I have bread and that's how I get by”
If you visit Palermo on December 13, when the mild temperature can reach around 20 degrees, you might think you have found yourself in a foggy place in northern Italy. In fact, however, you will notice that the fog is not caused by a typical weather phenomenon, but rather by a gastronomic one.
The city is preparing to fry thousands of arancine of all kinds, from classic to gourmet... all Palermitans and tourists celebrate this holiday by enjoying wonderful fried rice balls filled with every possible ingredient. It is the ultimate day of frying; you will smell the crispy coating of the arancine in the air....
But let's proceed in order and begin by understanding why this tradition is so deeply felt by the people of Palermo:
In 1646, the city of Palermo was suffering from a terrible famine that was literally bringing its citizens to their knees. Huge numbers of people were dying of hunger, and the population gathered in prayer to ask the saints and God for help in overcoming the crisis. On December 13, Saint Lucy's Day, a miracle occurred: a ship loaded with grain docked at the port of Palermo, and thanks to this, the city recovered. The population, ravaged by hunger, decided to boil the wheat immediately without processing it, so they could eat right away.
From that day on, Palermo's tradition has been to eat foods containing unprocessed grains on December 13, in honor of this historic event.
Breakfast therefore consists of cuccìa, a dessert made with boiled wheat, and people compete to see who can eat more arancine "accarne" (with meat) or "abburro" (with butter), a typical dish of Palermo's culinary tradition.
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